Sora's Birthday Wish
by Firenzie
Summary: It's the day of Sora's birthday and party, and Tai forgot to buy her a present... What will he go through to get it to her?
1. Happy Birthday, Sora!

Sora's Birthday Wish - Part 1

By Firenze

** **

**WARNING**: This has a teensy bit of spoilers from Season 2 in Japan, although I've personally never seen a real episode. If you're from the U.S. (like me) and don't want to find out what happens, then I suggest you don't read this. Or, just read it, and things that sound different, just pretend I made it up. This takes place three years in the future (just a while before season 2).

***

"Tai, wake up, sleepy head!" Hikari Kamiya shouted to her big brother, who was snoozing in his bunk bed.

"Awww…five more minutes Mom, I don't want to go to school today," Taichi groaned. 

"Oh, Tai, get up!" she pleaded.

"Just a little longer," he muttered into his pillow.

An idea popped into Kari's head. "Tai! Sora's been captured by an evil digimon!"

He jumped up. "What?! Sora! Where is she?"

She giggled. "I got you!"

"Kari!" he groaned. "Don't scare me like that."

"I'm sorry, Tai. I know you still have nightmares about when she got kidnapped by Datamon."

"Who told you about that? How did you know I still have those nightmares?" he asked frantically.

"TK told me about it. How you went by yourself to save her, right?" she asked. He nodded. "And sometimes at night, you're screaming so loud you wake the whole house up. Don't worry, Mom and Dad don't mind. Neither do I."

"Huh?" What do I scream?" he asked wondrously.

"Something like, _Sora! It's all my fault! I should have never let him get to you! If only I hadn't chickened out! It's all my fault! SORA!!!_ You know, stuff like that."

"Seriously?" he asked in shock.

"Yeah. Just two nights ago, you were screaming how you loved her and stuff."

His eyes widened and his cheeks burned. "I did not!"

"Don't be so sure. You almost woke the neighbors up. Now, enough of this. You need to take a shower. After all, it's your love's birthday party today." She giggled and ran out of the room before he had a chance to do anything.

Tai was still blushing, even though Kari had left. "I'd never say anything like that about Sora…would I?"

***

Sora Takenouchi woke up bright and early one Saturday morning. 

"Happy birthday, Sora!" her mother said cheerfully.

"Thanks, Mama!" _Wow, it's my birthday? I almost forgot!_

"Breakfast will be ready when you're done taking a shower. I'm going to be over in the florist's shop for a few hours okay? Don't worry, I'll be done before your party starts."

"Okay!" she called and rushed to take a shower, full of excitement and happiness.

***

"Oh man!" Tai cried.

"What is it?" Kari asked.

"I forgot to get Sora a birthday present!" he exclaimed.

"That's smart," she replied sarcastically. "And I thought you had been looking forward to it."

Desperately he asked, "Kari, did you get Sora anything?"

She nodded. "You still have to get her something yourself."

"But Kari, her party's in two hours! I don't have time –"

"You should have thought about that before," she said.

"Gee thanks. Look, Kari, tell Mom and Dad that I went to the mall, and I'll just walk to Sora's house."

"Okay then."

"Oh yeah, you're a girl, what should I get her?" Tai wondered.

"Tai, you've known Sora since practically forever. Just get her whatever you think she'd like."

"Remember when I got her those hairclips? She thought I hated her lucky hat!" he shouted.

"Tai, calm down. Look, you'll know what to get her when you see it. If all else fails, just wing it. You know, make up some song about her and tell her how you feel. Pick her some flowers on the way to her house."

He groaned. "Kari, I am not in love with Sora. We're just friends!" he called, rushing out the door.

"Sure!" she called out back to him. "Whatever, lover boy!" 

Good thing he was already far out the door and down the hallway of their apartment building.

***

Two hours until her party started. Sora had decided not to decorate her house, since it looked okay anyway. No streamers, balloons, clowns, or colorful banners and games like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. She was turning fourteen and she felt much older than she used to be. She just set up the backyard with a big CD player, space to dance, and some food. She also set up some room where Matt's band would perform.

This was more of an older kid party, but TK, Kari, and their friend Daisuke were still coming. Mimi had flew in from the east coast of the United States, and she had been telling Sora for so long that she had done something really crazy there, but not exactly what. Joe and Izzy had even abandoned their studies just to have a good time, though they weren't really the big party type. And of course Tai was coming, along with about ten of her other school friends.

She collapsed on a lawn chair. She was so excited and anxious that she could barely wait.

***

Tai ran all the way to the Odaiba Mall. He was fairly out of breath, but he didn't care. He needed to get Sora's present, and _fast_. 

First, he decided to check out one of those girly stores with make-up, jewelry, hair clips, and other accessories. Memories of her previous birthday and a look at the merchandise made Tai get out. Sora wasn't Mimi, after all. On his way out of the store crowded with teenage girls, he bumped into a girl with pink hair.

"Watch where you're going!" she growled, not taking her eyes off a shelf filled with bubble bath and bath crystals. 

"Aw, shove it, Pinky," he muttered, pushing his way out of the store.

"Hey!" she cried angrily. "I heard that!"

"It was pretty loud!" he called over his shoulder, walking out the door. _What a freak_, he thought. Yet such a familiar freak she was.

Next, he went into a sports store. He should probably get her something to do with soccer or tennis, her favorite sports. Yet he found nothing he could get her. Instead, he came out of the shop with stuff for himself only.

Tai nervously checked his watch. Only one hour and thirty minutes left. And it took half an hour to walk to the Takenouchi home from the mall, so he only had an hour to find her something. So he walked into the Sanrio store. After all, every girl liked Sanrio stuff, didn't they? 

It was basically his last chance to find her anything, because he didn't know where else to shop. Yet just standing in the shop was making him slightly queasy. Little cats, dogs, ducks, angels, and other cheerful animals with pink backgrounds surrounded him. It was too girly for him, just like the girl accessory store.

"Can I help you?" one of the teenage girl workers asked, clearly wondering what a fourteen-year-old boy was doing in a Sanrio store. "Are you looking for something for your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, it's her birthday," he said quickly and stopped. _What am I saying?_ "She's not my girlfriend, just a friend."

"Right," the clerk said, obviously not believing him. "So what kind of things does this girl like?"

"I don't know. Ummm…soccer, tennis, flower arranging, birds…" he trailed off. What did Sora like?

"Well," the girl said, pausing to think. "She'd probably like some –"

But what Sora would like, Tai never got to hear. A tall, blond, surfer kind of boy walked in the store. Tai recognized him as Sora's cousin.

"Wayne!" the girl yelled, and abandoned Tai to hug and kiss her boyfriend.

"Aw, man," Tai said. He picked the thing closest to him off a shelf, which turned out to be a cute pink bird stuffed animal, which was holding a bouquet of flowers in one wing and a soccer ball with its other. It looked somewhat like Biyomon, and Tai learned its name was Piyo-Piyo. 

"Wow, it's perfect!" he cried happily. He searched for a price tag and his heart sank when he saw it. It cost 1,000 ¥ just for a tiny stuffed bird. Still, he went to the counter to pay for it, when he spotted a beautiful sterling silver locket with a heart on the front just like the one on Sora's crest. Piyo-Piyo was engraved on the back too. "Hey, how much is this?" he asked the clerk.

"2,000 ¥," the old lady replied.

"Man!" That was all that was left of his 4,000 ¥ he had started out with. (He spent 1,000 ¥ [just under $10.00] on all the things he had bought for himself.)"Well…" This was Sora he was talking about. "Okay, I'll take it too." So Tai paid for all of it, and the lady kindly wrapped the stuffed animal in some wrapping paper with hearts and flowers all over it, for free too.

"Would you like me to put the necklace in too?" 

"Thanks!" he said, sprinting out of the store.

"Wait! Sonny!" the old lady shouted. "Hey! Come back!"

Tai panted. He only had ten minutes to get to Sora's house! It turned out, his watch had been half an hour behind, and he had spent a while in the Sanrio store looking for her present. Now he had it, but he was going to be late for her party!

***

**A/N:** Believe me, I never wanted to make this more than one part. But it was more than six pages long, so I had to split it up. Thanks for reading! I'm glad to make another Digimon fic after so long. Please, tell me what you think!

**Disclaimer:** Digimon and all these characters belong to FOX KIDS and Saban and stuff. Oh yeah, Sanrio is it's own store, and I made Piyo-Piyo (although I borrowed the name from some Japanese box I saw. It's really a duck, or some other kind of bird, I think).


	2. It's My Party, I Can Cry if I Want To

Sora's Birthday Wish - Part 2

By Firenze

** **

**WARNING**: This has a few spoilers from Season 2 in Japan, although I've personally never seen a real episode. All the facts I've gathered are from some really cool websites. If you're from the U.S. (like me) and don't want to find out what happens, then I suggest you don't read this. It takes place three years in the future (just a while before season 2).

Oh yeah, read Part 1 first or you'll be a bit lost.

***

_Ding-dong!_ Sora ran to the door excitedly. She flung it open. Her first guests!

"Hey." It was Yamato Ishida, the rest of his band, his brother Takeru Takaishi, and a bunch of teenage girls from their school who were in love with Matt.

"Hi!" She opened her door wider, and they walked in. "Ummm…you're the first ones here, so you can set up your stuff in the backyard."

"Oh yeah, happy birthday," Matt said coolly, walking to the backyard, carrying a microphone and a bass. His band followed him with their arms full of speakers, a drum set, guitars, and more microphones.

"Happy birthday, Sora!" TK said. "Is Kari or Daisuke here yet?"

She shook her head. "You're the first."

"Oh yeah." He handed her an armful of presents. Since the band was carrying equipment, he was holding all their presents.

"Thanks." She led TK to the backyard and dropped the pile of presents on an empty table.

_Ding-dong!_

_ _

"Excuse me," Sora said, dashing to the front door. She answered it, and Koushiro Izumi was there with his bike, his new yellow laptop, and a present for Sora.

"Hi, Izzy!" she said cheerfully.

"Happy birthday, Sora!" He walked to the backyard.

Mimi Tachikawa came along next. Her hair was pink! Sora talked to her for a while and learned about America. But then Mimi left to goggle at Matt and gossip with Michelle and her old friends.

Soon more guests arrived. Joe showed up, then Daisuke with his sister, and Hikari came alone. 

"So where's Tai?" she wondered.

"Oh, he went off to the mall," Kari replied, and said nothing more. She spotted Daisuke.

"Hi, Kari," he said, blushing furiously.

"Hello." She smiled warmly at him and glanced around. Just the person she was looking for. "TK!" she cried.

Daisuke was fuming. It was as if she was blowing him off to flirt with TK, the big basketball star, on purpose to make him jealous. Did she know that he had a huge crush on her? Probably.

Sora sighed. Her party was great, Matt's band was terrific, everyone was happy and dancing, but she was still disappointed. Where was Tai?

***

Tai felt ready to collapse. Yet he was still ten minutes away from Sora's house and ten minutes late for the party. "I have to – _pant, pant_ – make it to – _pant, pant_ – Sora's house – _pant, pant_," he kept telling himself, running with all the strength he had left. 

"Uh oh," he thought suddenly. "Where did I put Sora's present?" He wasn't holding it anymore, so where was it?

***

"Kari!" Sora shouted over Matt's band's loud music. "Where's Tai?"

Kari was presently flirting with TK. "Tai? He went to the mall. He should be here by now. He's an hour late!"

Sora sighed and sat down in one of the plastic lawn chairs. For some reason, her party wasn't as good as she hoped it would be. Well, actually it was – for everyone but herself.

"Sora?" her mother asked, coming into the backyard with some pizza boxes. "What's wrong?"

Sora sighed again and rested her chin on her fist. "I don't know. I was just hoping he would come. We are best friends – and I – I – I don't know, I've just been feeling kind of funny about him."

"Oh really?" her mother asked interestedly. "What kind of feelings?" She took a seat next to her.

"Oh, I don't know. It's just this strange vibe whenever I think of him," she admitted.

'I think you may have a crush on Tai – I mean, him."

Sora was blushing deeply. "Who said it was Tai?"

"Well, he was the only boy not to show up. I honestly can't see why. I always thought he had somewhat of a crush on you."

Sora couldn't get any redder if she tried. "Mama…"

"Look, I'm sure he has a very good reason why he didn't come," she reassured her. "Now I want you to have a good time. Stop moping over him, okay? Have fun. It's your birthday party! You're the only one having a bad time of this." 

"He'll show up, he has to," Sora said.

"Okay then. Look Sora, I have to get back to work. Make sure those kids don't start mosh pits, start drinking, doing drugs, or destroying the house. Okay?"

She giggled despite her lonely feeling. "Don't worry, I will, Mama."

"Okay then. We'll talk more about these _feelings_ after the party. Okay?"

"Oh, mom," she groaned.

Mrs. Takenouchi just grinned and walked away. "If there's any trouble, call me at the shop, all right?"

"I will!" she called.

Another half an hour later, Tai still wasn't there. Sora had tried to cheer herself up. She danced for a while, and one of Matt's band members had asked her on a date, but she refused. She talked with the other kids, but she still felt weird.

***

Tai groaned. "Oh man, I'm an hour and a half late! Her party is halfway over!" He sat at a park bench, very dejected. "I checked everywhere. I retraced all my steps except for…the mall!" He sprinted away.

An astonishing twenty minutes later, he was back in the Odaiba Mall. He rushed to the Sanrio store, to find out it was closing! "Wait!" he cried, banging on the metal gates, which were closing. "Stop! Wait!"

Very miserable, he collapsed onto a bench in the middle of the mall, and buried his head in his hands. "I can't believe this. This is not happening…"

"Hello, boy," someone said out of the shadows.

"Huh?" he asked, whipping around suddenly. When he saw who it was, his jaw dropped.

***

**A/N: **Ooh, a cliffhanger! Believe me, the answer to who it is, is not too surprising. And don't worry; this will develop into a Taiora! So tell me what you think, and read the next part when it comes out! (Wow, an A/N of mine where I don't insult myself or my writing!)

**Disclaimer: **Everything belongs to FOX and Saban, etc. Happy now?


	3. Fashionably Late

**Sora's Birthday Wish - Part 3**

By Firenze

Just so you don't get confused, read parts 1 and 2 first. This part kind of has a short summary of the two later on though.

***

"Man, Sora, I'm having a great time!" Izzy said. He was pretty hyper from drinking so much soda (think of the caffeine!) and he had been jumping around for no particular reason. 

_Oh great,_ she thought, _even _Izzy _is having more fun than me. Even Joe!_ She glanced at Joe, who was actually dancingwith some girl who was her school friend's older sister.

"Wow, look, it's Tomba!" Izzy shouted and skipped off.

"Izzy, no!" Sora cried, running after him. She grabbed onto his shirt. "That's not Tomba, that's Mimi!" she exclaimed. "Remind me to never, ever let you drink soda."

***

(**A/N:** Sorry to interrupt, but I just want to say something. I was to lazy to come up with a more interesting plotline, and plus, this story is long enough, so I didn't make this person like a kidnapper or mall security guard or anything. I just wasn't in the mood to write so much. So this person probably isn't a surprise…) 

Tai's mouth dropped. "Oh man, it's you!" he exclaimed.

"Yes it is," the person said. "I have what you're looking for."

"Where did you find it?" he asked anxiously.

The old lady who worked at Sanrio grinned. "You ran off and forgot to take it with you. I was waiting for you to come back, but when the store closed I thought I'd see if you were still in the mall. You weren't, so I was about to head home when I saw you – anyway, here." The lady put the package into his hands. "I'm sure she'll like it."

"Thank you so much!" Tai said. "I can't ever repay you or thank you enough –"

"You should be heading for home now," the lady said. "It's getting late."

"I can't. I have to get to my friend's birthday party, and I'm close to two hours late already." Tai frowned. "By the time I get there, there'll only be thirty minutes left."

"Tell you what," the old lady said. "I'll drive you."

"Really?!" Tai cried. "But – but I don't even know you!" 

"Say, aren't you Tai, Mimi's old friend? I'm her grandmother."

"You're Mimi's grandma?" he asked in disbelief. 

"You bet!" she said in a voice that definitely seemed like Mimi. "Now, do want a ride or not?"

"Are you kidding?" Tai exclaimed. "Of course I do!"

"Great! My ride is in the parking lot."

***

"Sora, cheer up," Mimi said. "Why are you so glum?" They were sitting down in the grass of her side yard, away from the loud party.

"I'm fine," she lied, faking a smile, which was a bit lopsided.

"Sure you are," she said sarcastically. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she fibbed again.

"Oh. It's Tai, right?"

Sora threw her hands in the air. "How can everyone tell?"

Mimi giggled. "Don't worry, I'm sure he's coming."

"I hope so," she said, hugging her knees to her chest. "There's only a little under an hour left."

***

"Aaaagggghhh!!!" Tai yelled at the top of his lungs.

Mimi's grandma's _ride_ was a very, very fast motorcycle. "Having fun?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Uhhh…yeah…aaaagggghhh!" he cried, as the motorcycle sped up.

"Don't worry, we're almost there!"

"Thank god!"

_Screeeeeeeeeeech!!!! _They came to an abrupt stop. "Well, kid. Here it is," Mimi's grandmother said.

Tai gave a sigh of relief, and removed his helmet. "Finally. I can't thank you enough, Mrs. Tachikawa," he said.

"Don't worry about it. Now, get to that party and tell her how you feel!"

_Why does everyone think that?_ he wondered, walking off. 

"Wait!" she yelled.

"Huh?" He turned around.

"You're not going to forget her present _again_?"

***

_Ding-dong!_

_ _

"Sora, I think that was the doorbell!" Mimi cried. 

"What?" she asked. "The music is too loud!"

_Ding-dong!_

"I think I heard the doorbell!"

_Ding-dong!_

_ _

"HUH?"

"I THINK I HEARD THE –"

_Ding-dong!_

_ _

"DOORBELL!" she shouted.

Sora's face lit up. "Do you think it's –?"

Mimi beamed. "Go find out!"

She rushed to the door as fast as possible, and opened the door as fast as possible. She grinned. Finally – _finally_, it was Tai! 

"Tai!" she cried, resisting the urge to run up and hug him.

"Sora! Happy birthday!" He fought against the same urge. Suddenly, they launched into a lot of speaking, at the same time. "I'm so sorry I'm so late –"

"Don't even worry, I understand –"

"First, I forgot to get you a present –"

"I told you, it's okay –!"

"So I went to the mall and got you something –"

"Tai, never mind –!" 

"But then I left it there –"

"Give it up –!"

"I had to run back, but they were closing –"

"Tai! Forget it –!"

"And then I met the lady from the store who turned out to be Mimi's grandma –"

"Mimi's grandma? What does she have to do with this?"

"She gave me the gift and took me on her motorcycle here –"

"What? Motorcycle?" Sora was thoroughly confused.

"And I made it to your party nearly two hours late. The very unhappy end," he said, panting from talking so fast.

"Well, I can't say it's my favorite story," she joked, "but come on. Let's go to the backyard. You missed enough of the party already, but I saved all the games until you came."

They walked to the backyard, where everyone was taking a break. Matt's band had just performed their biggest hit, and everyone was a bit tired out from all the screaming and jumping up and down.

They danced and ate for a while. Tai was getting himself a can of soda when he brushed against someone accidentally. "Oh, sorry," he replied. When he looked up, he gasped. It was the girl with pink hair from the girls' accessory store. "Pinky?" he cried in shock.

Her eyes widened. "Tai?"

"Oh man – Mimi?" he asked.

"That was you?" she cried. 

"THAT WAS YOU?!" he exclaimed.

"I'm going to give you a head start, since I haven't seen you in a few years –" she growled.

"How about we play a game?" Sora suggested to everyone quickly, hoping to avoid conflict between Tai and Mimi.

"Ooh, musical chairs!" someone joked.

"Pin the tail on the donkey!" one of the band members cried.

"Is there a piñata?" Joe asked seriously.

"No, we're going to play –"

***

**A/N:** You know I had to cut it off there. You probably might know what they're going to play, so I'll get that part up tomorrow. This story is getting way too long. So review this already so I can post the next part! (I mean, I finished all five parts on the same day, but I just wanted to let you wait)

**Disclaimer:** Everything belongs to FOX and co., Tomba belongs to the video game, and whatever else you know isn't mine belongs to someone else. Oh yeah, I have no idea what Mimi's grandma is like; I just made that up for fun.


	4. Fun and Games

Sora's Birthday Wish Part 4

By Firenze

** **

If you haven't, read parts 1, 2, and 3 first!

Oh yeah, some people guessed they would be playing Spin the Bottle, and I was thinking that at first, but then I changed my mind at the last moment, so…since it isn't that, you have to know what it is by now. 

Notes from the author to people who reviewed: (Artemis Tiger, that would be funny if it were Hide-and-Go-Seek! Maybe Follow the Leader…) (InSaNePiKaChU, what are you thinking??? Seven Minutes in Heaven? Hey, this is for little kids too!)****

** **

***

"We're going to play Truth or Dare," Sora replied firmly. "If anyone doesn't want to, then you can go back to the party." 

Matt's band didn't want to, but Matt did. All of their other school friends didn't want to play either. In the end, it was just the Digidestined and Daisuke. Mimi was so excited to play that she forgot about really hurting Tai for him pushing her, telling her to shove off, and calling her "Pinky." Tai was just relieved she had forgotten. Joe agreed since everyone else was playing.

"Great!" Sora replied. "Me first. I pick…Mimi!"

Mimi smiled. "Yay!"

"Truth or dare?"

"Hmmm…" she thought. "I pick…truth!"

"Who do you like?" Sora asked, giggling.

Mimi got a dreamy look on her face. "This really, really cute American boy named Scott…but I kind of like Matt too."

Matt grinned proudly. He loved having girls liking him, even if it was Mimi you were talking about.

"Chalk up another to Matt's fan club," Tai said.

"You're just jealous," he replied pompously. Tai rolled his eyes.

Mimi clapped her hands. "My turn! I pick…Joe! Truth or dare?"

"Ummm…" he said worriedly. "I don't know. I think I'm allergic to playing this." Everyone groaned.

"Just pick," Sora said firmly.

"Truth," he answered after the longest time of annoying them with excuses.

"Ummm…what scares you the most?" 

"Great, Mimi, now he'll take forever to answer this too," Tai muttered.

And Tai was right. It took forever for him to come up with any answer. 

"Just make something up!" Tai begged, practically falling asleep.

"Joe, by the time you're done, we'll be as old as you," TK pointed out. Everyone laughed. 

Joe. "Oh, sorry. Ummm…probably a really evil digimon. I'm not to sure."

Daisuke looked confused. "An evil digi-what?" 

"Never mind," Kari told him.

"Or an evil digimon with it's head severed and blood, brain fluid, and other stuff oozing out the part where the neck should be, and his eyes coming out of his sockets, and brains coming out of his nose and ears, and blood pouring out of his mouth, and then –" Matt said, making everyone queasy. 

"That's enough, Matt," Sora said, looking kind of pale.

Joe slightly whimpered and visibly cringed, just at the thought of that. _And I'm supposed to be a doctor…_ he thought. Everyone else laughed at him. "Anyway, I pick Izzy."

"Truth," he said.

"Oh come on," Tai groaned. "Will someone pick dare?" They ignored him.

Joe thought for an even longer time. "Would you ever try to meet a girlfriend on the Internet?"

"Of course not!" Izzy said indignantly. "Well, not again. I already have an cyber girlfriend, who needs another?"

The kids looked impressed. Izzy had a girlfriend?

"How many times did you lie to get her to be your online girlfriend?" Matt teased.

Izzy's cheeks tinged pink. "Tai. I dare you to –"

"Hey, don't I get a choice?" he asked.

"Well, you said you wanted someone to pick dare –" TK pointed out.

"Okay, then. What is it, Izzy?"

He was smiling. Not a good thing for Tai. "I dare you to kiss the girl you like the most who's sitting in this circle."

He paled very quickly. "What if I don't like any of the girls in this circle?" Nobody, except Sora and Daisuke, was convinced. 

"It's Mimi or…_Sora_," Matt said. "That's just gross to kiss your sister."

Kari looked revolted at the thought. "So anyway, Tai, you have to kiss _her_." By _her_, you know whom she meant.

"Right now?" he asked frantically. "I had it all planned out. I was going to tell her at sunset, so it would be, you know, mushy and romantic and stuff," he made up very quickly. "Then I was planning to do it then…" 

The others raised their eyebrows in amazement. Tai…romantic? And still, Sora remained quite oblivious that everyone else knew he was talking about her. _I never thought Mimi was his type…_she thought to herself._ _

"But we'd never get to see it," Kari protested.

"Who cares? At least I'm going to do it, just later, I promise. Just give me a different dare for now, Izzy," Tai said.

"Never mind, chicken," Matt said.

Tai growled."Okay, I pick you, Matt. Truth or dare?"

"Dare," he said, without hesitation. "And I won't wimp out."

"I dare you to make out with any girl here!" Tai shouted.

"NO WAY!!!" Matt, Mimi, and Sora cried at the same time.

Tai crossed his arms. "Right, you won't wimp out," he said sarcastically. "Fine, I dare you to make out with a tree."

"A tree?" he asked with incredulity.

"Yes, a tree. That nice medium sized one over there."

Matt, who didn't want to look stupid, was about to disagree, but he didn't want to be chicken either. He made out with one of Sora's trees for a while. Kari snapped tons of pictures with her camera. 

"Nasty," he said, spitting out bits of bark a few moments later. The whole group was doubled over and clutching their stomachs with laughter. Mr. Big Shot didn't seem so cool now!

"Okay, TK, truth or dare?" he asked coughing up part of a leaf. Everyone was in hysterics.

TK didn't want to make out with a tree or anything remotely similar, so he chose truth.

"Do you like anyone?" Matt asked, grinning.

"I'm not interested," he admitted. "Lots of girls flirt with me –" the group _oohed_ – " but I'm not looking for anyone right now."

"That's cool," Joe said. "You are pretty young."

"Well, I pick Daisuke," he decided. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," he also picked.

"Who do you like?" TK asked, even though he, and everyone else, knew already.

He blushed and muttered something inaudible.

"What?" Tai asked.

"Can you repeat that?" TK requested.

"Kari," he whispered as quietly as possible.

"Who?" Kari asked. Even she knew, but this was probably going to be another funny moment.

"I can't hear you, dude," Matt lied, pretty much close to laughing. "Shout it out at the top of your lungs!"

"I LIKE KARI!" he yelled loudly, even over the music coming from Sora's CD player. Everyone at the party laughed at him. 

Daisuke was bright crimson. "I pick..." They were running out of people. Now only Kari and Sora were left. "Kari," he chose.

"Dare," she said, still giggling.

"Uhhh…uhhh…"

"And you can't dare her to kiss _you_!" Matt joked, making Daisuke blush again.

He really wanted revenge, and though he hated to take it out on Kari…he couldn't as well embarrass Sora on her birthday. He racked his brain for a dare she wouldn't have the guts to do, and if she did it would be very awkward for her. "Well, Kari…I dare you to sit on some boy's lap," he said. "And not Tai."

She blushed, and was going over a quick process of elimination in her head. _I can't do that to TK, I'm not allowed to sit on Tai's lap, definitely not Daisuke or Matt, not Joe or Izzy…_ "I can't pick," she said finally. "Just choose anyone and I'll do it, I swear."

"And not yourself," Tai reminded Daisuke.

Daisuke blushed for a record shattering time. "Ummm…how about…Izzy?" he suggested. Since it couldn't be himself. And it would never be TK.

"Well, okay," she said, and sat down in Izzy's lap. 

"Not exactly my kind of a laptop," he said lamely. Everyone laughed again, even though the joke was pretty pathetic, coming from Izzy and all. 

Kari looked a bit uncomfortable, to Daisuke's delight. "Okay, I pick Sora. "

"Dare," she said in a faraway voice. She wasn't really paying attention. She was pretty much just dazing off and partially daydreaming about _someone_.

"Hug your best friend." Sora was going for Mimi, but Kari slyly added, "Your best friend that's a _boy_." And everyone knew that was Tai, who actually was her best friend anyway.

"Okay, I'll make it quick," she said.

"I'm not done!" Kari lied. "For thirty seconds!"

She groaned. "Thirty seconds?" _How can you hug anyone that long? And I bet they know that my best friend who's a boy is Tai!_Actually, she was nervous, not mad. Her heart was beating a thousand times faster, and she felt butterflies in her stomach.

Tai's palms were sort of sweaty. It was definitely him Kari meant, and was a bit annoyed at her. He was anxious for her to hug him, though, but pretty nervous too. 

Sora reluctantly hugged Tai. Kari again took as many pictures possible. When the two drew apart after _two_ minutes (the others were purposely not keeping track of time), they were both bright scarlet.

"Well, everyone's gone already, and I'm very sick of this very quickly. I was planning to play Spin the Bottle because some girls really wanted to —" _To kiss Matt, no doubt,_ she realized — "but I don't, so we're opening presents now."

"What, no cake?" Kari asked.

"We're a bit old for a birthday cake with candles," Sora explained. "HEY!" she called to the people. "Present time!" Everyone cheered for some reason.

Sora walked over to the table with all the presents stacked on it. "Who's should I open first?" she wondered. Everyone shouted something different. "How about I open them in the order the people arrived?" she suggested. 

"Just open them!" Mimi cried. "A present is a present!"

She smiled. "Okay, okay. Matt came first so…" She found a small box from Matt. "What is it, Matt, your picture and signature?"

He just gave a cool, half-grin that made girls melt.

She found a small card and opened the envelope. "It is your signature!" she giggled. Everyone else laughed. "She's so lucky," the girls said enviously. 

"It says 'Happy birthday' too," Matt protested.

"I know, I was joking." She tore the gold wrapping paper off the small box and found some pretty hairclips. She and Tai looked at each other, silently giggling to themselves. 

"What, you don't like my lucky hat?" she asked Matt, pretending to be offended. He just scratched his head in confusion.

Next, Sora opened the cards from Matt's band members. All in all, she got around 4,000 ¥.

From TK, she got a nice card that said, '_I _HOPE_ you have a very happy birthday!_'' and a brand new soccer ball. "Thanks, TK!" she said gratefully. She had wanted a new soccer ball for the longest time. 

From Matt's fans, she got a bunch of make-up and nail polish that she knew she would pass on to Mimi later on.

From Izzy, she got a nice, expensive, soccer computer game. Typical of Izzy. 

Mimi gave Sora a bunch of make-up and girly stuff from the U.S. It was nice, and she was very grateful, but she'd never actually use it. 

She got a whole assortment of things from her school friends, stuff she liked, other girlish stuff, and around 3,000 ¥. 

Joe gave her a nice, new, shiny, tennis racket. She would use it from now on when she played tennis. 

Daisuke and his sister gave her a cool sports bag to use for soccer, tennis, and anything else, which she knew would be very useful. Already, she put the soccer ball and tennis racket inside.

Finally, Kari gave her a scrapbook she had been working on for months, to remind her of the Digiworld. It had been three years since they had been there, and they all thought they would never return. It was very nice, and Sora almost thought she would tear up looking at the pictures.

Everything was so great, and her party was finally perfect and fun – for Sora too.

***

**A/N: **Sorry I had to break it up again. Sorry that last line is corny, but that's where I split the two parts. A basic rule of mine is: any time a fic gets more than 6 or 7 pages long; I split it up. 

But no worries, the next part will be last, I promise, with definite Taiora, and it'll be out tomorrow or even later today (I told you they were all finished at the same time). So look out for it! 

So review, or tell me what you think, set fire to my house with your flames, sing a nice little song, whatever (you don't even have to review, just say "hi" or something). I just thrive off reviews, okay?

**Disclaimer:** (I hate these!) Blah, blah…everything and everyone in this fic belongs to, Digimon, belongs to Saban and FOX Kids…blah, blah…who cares?


	5. A Wish Comes True

Sora's Birthday Wish - Part 5

By Firenze

** **

If you haven't, read all the others first! (Though it isn't quite needed to understand this one)

Oh, and I didn't forget about Tai's present! I was saving it for some more cheesy fluff, okay?****

***

Sora's birthday party was ending very quickly, since lots of kids had to get home now. Matt's band had another gig at some other party. Mimi was going shopping yet again, Joe was back to studying for a test, and Izzy was going to talk to his girlfriend online.

In no time at all, everyone was gone except for TK, who was waiting for his mom, and Tai and Kari, who were waiting for Mr. Kamiya to come pick them up on his way home from work. He had called and said he would be a bit late, and would be there in an hour or more.

TK and Kari eventually went inside to watch TV, and Sora and Tai remained outside, cleaning up the backyard because Mrs. Takenouchi had asked them to.

"Man, what a mess," Tai groaned.

"Who knew a few teenagers could make a place so untidy?" she asked quite sarcastically. They picked up trash in silence for a while.

"I never gave you my present," Tai said, when they finally finished and were sitting in the shade of a large tree (not the one Matt made out with!).

"That's right!" she remembered. "Why not? So where is it? Did you even really get one?"

"I spent hours making sure of that," he replied.

"Thanks for the effort," she said. "Anyone else would have forgot about it in a few hours. But you kept trying to get it back. You nearly missed my party!"

"I have to thanks Mrs. Tachikawa for that," he replied modestly. 

"Don't be so shy about it, Tai, it's a great thing. Really rare. More people would want to have fun, but you thought about me, not yourself."

"I couldn't go to your party and not get you anything," he said.

"Stop contradicting yourself and me," she said. "I mean, I'm glad you did what you did."

"Anyway," Tai said, "here it is. I didn't want to give it to you in front of everyone else, well, because, ummm…" 

"I understand," she said. But did she really? Why didn't he?

He presented her with the box wrapped with pink wrapping paper, hearts, and flowers. "I hope you like it, I spent most of my allowance on it."

"Thanks, Tai," she said gratefully, carefully taking off the paper.

"Just rip it!" Tai said.

"No! It's too pretty," she told him. "I love it."

"Thank Mimi's grandma again."

"No," she said, looking into his eyes. "I'll thank you." For some reason, she almost thought of kissing him. She pondered over it, and decided not to. She didn't have the guts anyway.

Tai blushed. "So, are you going to open it?"

She smiled. "Yeah, just wait."

"I've been waiting for a while now…"

"Oh, be quiet," she said, giggling. She finally took of the paper (without tearing it once), and opened the box."

"Sorry, I didn't have time to get a card," he said, looking down at the ground.

"It's all right. Really. Wow, Tai this is great!" She finally gave in to her yearning and gave him a big hug. And this one had meaning to it. "Thank you!"

This time, Tai wasn't blushing either. Well, not as much. And they weren't nervous, it just felt – right. Tai smelled Sora's hair (it smelled strongly of flowers), and Sora rested her head on his shoulder. A while later, they drew apart.

"Well," Sora said, scratching her head and looking away.

"Ummm…" Tai looked back at his shoes.

"So…"

"So you like the stuffed animal?" he asked anxiously.

"I absolutely love it! It's so cute! Piyo-Piyo, that's its name? It sort of resembles Biyomon! Well, it's a bird, and it's pink anyway. And it has flowers and a soccer ball. It's so perfect! Where did you find it?"

"At the Sanrio store," he said.

She raised her eyebrows. "_You_ went into the Sanrio store for _me_?"

"_I_ went into a girls' accessory store for _you_, where it was mobbed with teenagers screaming over nail polish and make-up." He laughed. "I could have died; one girl nearly trampled me when she saw a poster of some American boy band."

"You really do care," she murmured happily, looking down at the stuffed animal.

"Of course I care, Sora," he said. "I really care for you; I always have, actually, whether you knew it or not. I mean, if you were hurt, or something bad happened to you, or you were crying, or kidnapped…" he trailed off.

She looked up suddenly. "Kari told me you still have nightmares about that time... Is it true?"

He found he couldn't even look at her. "Kari didn't happen to mention what I was screaming in my sleep – did she?" he asked tensely.

She shook her head. "No, why?" 

"No reason," he lied, sighing with relief. Good thing he could trust Kari to keep it a secret. "But yeah, I still have when Datamon kidnapped you. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I just got really scared for the first time in a while. I felt responsible, like it was my fault, it was really…and I guess that's why I used to act without thinking, because if I ever froze, I'd stay that way forever. I pushed aside my fears and made any decision."

"But now you think without acting. You've really grown, Tai, did you know that?" she asked.

"I think we all have."

Sora looked away. "Hey, look, the sun's setting!" The sun was setting below the horizon of Mount Fuji.

"Cool," was all he could manage. His palms started to sweat when he remembered what he promised he would do at sunset. He thought he would have been safe at home by now! Yet he kept trying to get the nerve to actually do it, because he couldn't stand any longer of Sora not knowing how he felt. 

Wait…he really did have feelings for her! _Why was I the only one who couldn't see it? It must have been obvious, I mean, Kari could tell, and even Mimi's grandma! I guess it's true, love is blind, or maybe just the people who are in love. She can't see it after all, and she had the crest of love. Wait – now I'm in _love_ with Sora? I'm so confused! What's happening to me?_

Sora noticed the contemplative look on his face, and gave him some time to collect his thoughts. She decided to do the same. _It's sunset. I must have ruined everything for Tai! Now he won't be able to tell Mimi how he really feels, this is all my fault. But Mimi likes Matt and Scott, so then what's going on? He wouldn't be able to tell her anyway, or else it would just break his heart! _

_ _

_Maybe his heart is already broken. I should just give him time to collect his thoughts and help him find out what to do. I guess I could let him up in my secret spot; it always helped me sort everything out. I don't want to interrupt him, but…_

"You know, from this tree, you can get the best view of the sunset. Come on!" She easily scurried up the tall tree and settled on its most enormous branch.

Tai snapped out of his daze and nodded. He tried to climb up after her, yet it was kind of a labor to do so. For some reason, it wasn't as easy as Sora had made it look.

"I've been climbing up this tree all my life," she explained, as if reading his thoughts. "When I wanted to be alone and think about life, or get away from my mother after a stupid argument or fight, or just watch the beautiful sunset."

Tai made it up finally, and took a seat next to her. "It is beautiful," he said, gazing at the sunset. It wasn't normal for him to gush over something as dumb as a waterfall, rainbow, shooting star, or sunset, but this truly was amazing.

As they watched the orangey-red sun sink below the horizon, they just thought about a lot of things without saying a single word. Mostly they thought about each other.

"I just remembered something," Tai said quietly, shattering the serene atmosphere.

"What?" she asked.

"I had a second present for you."

"Really?" she asked. "You didn't have to, you know –"

"I know. But this was really something I wanted you to have. To remind you of –" He stopped and fished something out of his pocket. "I had forgotten all about it. But I was thinking of you and it just came into my head. Here." He showed her the beautiful silver necklace with the heart locket. 

Tai held it out to her, and for a long time she stared at it, and gingerly picked up the locket. "It's beautiful," she murmured, admiring the heart engraved on it. "It's identical to the one on my crest."

"Yeah," he said softly. "Turn it over."

"Oh my gosh, this looks _exactly _like Biyomon," she gasped.

"Huh?" He peered closely at the locket. "It is! But it used to be Piyo-Piyo!"

"Take a look at the stuffed animal," she whispered. She showed it to him. It practically was a miniature doll of Biyomon, no longer just a similar, pink bird. "Is it magic?"

"Maybe it's intuition, but some things you just don't question," Tai quoted from a song.

"I wonder how it happened," she said. "It's kind of frightening. Well, not really, but…"

"It's just weird," he said. "But…" He stopped. They were solemnly quiet for another while.

Then Tai picked the necklace up and slowly put it over her head. He straightened it out, and just held the locket and stared at it. _I'm so dumb, I forgot to put something inside it!_

"Tai, what's wrong?" she whispered.

He felt pretty stupid right now, that was what. "Oh, it's nothing. Nothing at all." _It's just a locket. This is Sora, she'd understand. Anyway, she probably has some picture of Matt or someone that she wants to put inside it._

_He must be sad about Mimi. I wish I could cheer him up! _"Tai, tell me. I can't help you if you don't say what's bothering you," Sora reasoned.

Tai looked up to tell her, and their eyes met. He gave no answer.

They just stared right into each other's eyes. Sora's mysterious, cinnamon, reddish eyes, and Tai's fierce, chocolate brown. Eventually, their gaze was discontinued because they closed their eyelids shut instinctively…and they moved closer…and closer…

***

_Ding-dong!_

_ _

Mrs. Takenouchi answered the door. "Oh, hello, come in. Nancy! TK's mother?"

"Yes, that's me." Mrs. Takaishi stepped inside. "So where's TK?"

"I'll go and get him," Mrs. Takenouchi offered. She called, "TK!" and walked into the living room, where he and Kari were laughing at an anime cartoon.

"Yes?" he asked, diverting his attention from the TV screen to Sora's mother. 

"Your mother's here. You're going home now," she answered.

"Okay." He got up off of the couch. "Mom?" he asked, as she walked in the room. "Do you think Kari could come over?"

She thought for a while. "Well, I guess if her father approves of it –"

_Ding-dong!_

_ _

"Speak of the devil," Mrs. Takenouchi laughed. Mr. Kamiya was standing at the door. "Hello! I'll go get Tai. I think he's still outside with Sora."

"I'll get them," Kari volunteered.

"Thanks, honey," Mr. Kamiya said.

"So, Mr. Kamiya? Can Kari come over to our house?" he asked hopefully.

"I guess so. She could have dinner there, and then I'd pick her up tonight…"

"Great!" Mrs. Takaishi said.

"Tai!" Kari called, opening the screen door. She scanned the backyard for the two of them, but she couldn't spot them. "Tai! Sora!" Then, outlined by the dim glow of the sunset, she saw them sitting on a huge branch.

"Hey, TK, come here!" she called, but not too loudly. 

He was pulling on his shoes, as the adults talked in the hallway by the front door. "What?"

"Look, Tai and Sora are sitting in a tree!" she said.

"Doing what_, K-I-S-S-I-N-G_?" he joked, grinning.

"Actually, yes."

"Huh?!" 

They gaped at Tai and Sora, who were kissing softly atop a branch in a huge tree.

"Tai kept his promise," Kari replied. "Right at sunset."

"And we got to see it," TK laughed.

"I'm not sure I want to see it," she said, looking away.

"Me neither."

"Well, I guess it's romantic," Kari said, instantaneously changing her mind.

"Yeah, not at all like Matt does it," TK also replied suddenly.

She looked at him, raising her eyebrows. "How _does_ Matt do it?" she wondered.

He laughed. "You definitely wouldn't want to know that."

"So should we interrupt them?" she asked, switching the subject. TK was right, she didn't want to hear about Matt's love life anyway.

"They'd know we were watching," he said slowly, "but Tai has to get home…"

"Okay, then. I'm going to interrupt them," Kari agreed.

***

Tai and Sora drew apart eventually. They just blushed and looked away from each other.

"I promised them I would do it at sunset, didn't I?" he asked, grinning.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" she asked.

"What?"

"I'm the girl you like the most?" she questioned.

He slightly blushed. "Well, of course."

"You're the boy I like the most," she replied shyly.

"Good," he said, slowly and uncertainly sliding his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed happily.

"I hate to break this love fest," Kari shouted from the ground, "but Dad's here, Tai!"

"Aw, man," he groaned. _Kari saw us!_

"You should go then," Sora said._ Kari saw us! ****_

"Just one more thing. Sora, will you go out with me?"

She giggled. "Of course I will Tai. I'll see you later!"

"You too," he replied, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Bye!" Then he cautiously made his way down the large tree.

"Tai's in love!" Kari chorused as they walked back to the house. "Bye, Sora!" As they walked inside, TK and Kari started chorusing, "Tai and Sora sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…!"

"Bye!" she called, fingering her locket. She sighed contentedly. So she was to old for birthday cakes and candles, but wishes (especially for birthdays) were another thing. Earlier that morning, she had wished that someone (mainly Tai) would gather their _courage_ and ask her out. 

She stared at her locket for a while, and interestedly, opened it up. Inside was a picture of Tai smiling. On the other side a tiny piece of paper was tucked in, all folded up. She gingerly took it out, unfolded it, and read what was written on it in silver pen - - 

_You wished for me, _

_I wished for you. _

_Since we're together now, _

_I guess it came true._

_ _

Her eyes widened. Whether it was magic, destiny, or just a very coincidental wish and a lucky guess from Tai, it didn't matter. Her birthday wish had come true, and she was happy.

***

**A/N: **If I didn't mention earlier, this was dangerously cheesy. But I like it, so what do you think? Sniffle, sniffle, it's all over! NO!!! 

Oh, and just so you know, Tai isn't the one who put the picture or the poem inside, since he forgot about the necklace. Let's just say it was…magic. I made up that poem at 3:00 in the morning, so sorry if it's so gay and stuff. 

**A Simple Request: **DON"T FLAME ME WITH REVIEWS THAT SAY "THIS SUCKS" AND "SORATO" ABOUT ONE HUNDRED TIMES! I SAID IT WAS A TAIORA, SO LEAVE ME ALONE!!! Sorry, had to get that off my chest, I was pretty pissed off about it.

**Disclaimer:** *Sigh* none of these characters or anything belongs to me.No, they're FOX KIDS' and Saban's and all that other stuff. That lyric Tai said is from a Savage Garden song, if I remember correctly. Happy? Good. Now you can't sue me. I'm flat broke anyway.


End file.
